


Long Time, No See

by Jaelijn



Category: Blake's 7
Genre: Established Relationship, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, POV Outsider, not Vila or Avon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 16:54:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16067342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaelijn/pseuds/Jaelijn
Summary: I had never seen Kerr Avon look at anyone in quite the same way as he looked at Vila.





	Long Time, No See

**Author's Note:**

> Something just a little different.

I had never seen Kerr Avon look at anyone in quite the same way as he looked at Vila. Mousy, inconspicuous Vila Restal, who seemed to take up space primarily through his physical mass, no aura to speak of, nothing to draw your eye. In fact, Restal seemed to shrink, appearing even smaller than he was, even more unremarkable. He was so entirely unlike anyone that one would expect a man like Kerr to pay any attention to, and yet…

“Coffee?”

Restal’s plain friendly voice pulled me from my thoughts, and I just caught Kerr smirking out of the corner of my eyes as I turned to face him. “Coffee would be lovely. Thank you.”

Restal smiled easily in acknowledgment and glanced over to Kerr. “ _He_ ’s got manners, at least.”

“How would you know?” Kerr shot back lightly, not even looking up from his work – but I had seen him watching the thief earlier and wasn’t fooled.

Surprised, yes. I was certainly surprised.

Restal hurried off, presumably to fetch the offered coffee, leaving us alone. I watched Kerr work for a moment, his hands moving over the keyboard while he effortlessly kept an eye on the three monitors. He’d always had a gift for computers. “Well?”

Kerr paused and looked up, a slight smile playing about his lips. “A, uh… an acquaintance is fond of telling me that ‘well’ is not a question.”

“Are you going to tell them?”

The smile faded. “Are you?”

“I don’t see that it would be necessary.”

“Yes.”

A pause. I carefully studied his face. “He makes a change,” I said.

Kerr was caught off guard for a second, precious emotions flashing over his face. “I suppose he does,” he answered at length.

“Were you going to tell me?”

“I thought you were dead.”

“As good as,” I said, suppressing the pang of sympathy as a flash of pain flickered through his eyes. I had long come to terms with it, long enough to take it with humour. “You wouldn’t have, would you? You thought I was dead, and now that I am still alive, you would have kept it from me, like all those other things you keep from me. I do follow the news, Kerr.”

He made a sound that might have been close to laughter, if it hadn’t been so without humour. “You shouldn’t believe everything the propaganda channels tell you.”

“I don’t, but there are some things even the Federation doesn’t need to lie about.”

He sighed, laying down his tools. “What do you want to know?”

I didn’t know whether he had heard Restal in the corridor, but the thief walked in before I could even ask the first question. He offered me a cup of coffee first before stepping back to Kerr’s side and all but pressing a cup into his hand.

“Here. Since you asked so nicely.”

Kerr gave him one of his nods that was hardly more than a blink. And then, wonders of wonders: “Thanks.”

Restal leant close to peer at Kerr’s work. “Any progress?”

Kerr sipped at his cup and didn’t move out of Restal’s personal space. “Some.” Kerr had always hated it when people looked over his shoulder. I wondered whether he realised how obvious he was being – a skilled Federation psychostrategist would only have to take one look at them to realise that Kerr’s relationship with Restal was different, and that to manipulate Kerr Avon, one only had to get to Vila Restal.

“You ought to be careful,” I told him, “or the Federation might notice something.”

Kerr’s head came up and he stared at me, his eyes narrowed. It was the longest he had looked at me since we had met here. Restal was staring at me too, suspicion wrinkling his expression.

“What does that mean? Avon, what does that mean? Is that a threat?”

“No threat,” I said, locking my gaze with Kerr’s, “just a warning – a bit of brotherly advice, if you like, from one rebel to another.”

Restal’s frown deepened. “I don’t like this, Avon. Don’t like this at all.”

But Kerr was grinning, a broad, mirthful grin with just an edge of danger that I had not seen in years. “Don’t worry, Vila.”

Vila snorted. “ _Don’t worry_ , he says. You’re mad, you know. I’ve seen you shoot people for less!”

Kerr simply picked up his tools again, putting the cup down by his feet. “I’m nearly finished anyway.”

Restal’s eyes were still on me. “Plenty of time to set off a trap.”

“There is no trap, Vila,” Kerr said, already half-immersed in his work again. “Are you going to get suspicious of Cally every time she tells us to be careful, too?”

“I might, if she phrased it like that! Why aren’t you?”

“If it makes you feel better, Vila, I am unarmed,” I said.

“You would say that. And I brought you coffee.” Restal brushed his hand against Kerr’s shoulder. “Avon, let’s leave.”

“We will, once I’m finished. It will take longer if you keep interrupting me.”

Restal studied him for a moment, taking his eyes off me – it was lucky that I had no weapon to try anything, nor the intention to. “You trust him!” Restal exclaimed suddenly.

Kerr shrugged, wordlessly straightening to study the monitors.

“But you don’t trust anyone! We only just met him! Not even B-” Restal choked down on his words – he’d been about to mention Blake, I was sure. Oh, they’d been careful not to mention their ship and their leader, just offered their technical assistance and nothing else. It was wise. Not all of the old rebel groups were all that happy with Blake. I knew, of course; I made it a habit to keep track of Kerr’s activities from afar, and I had started hearing of him everywhere since he became involved with Blake.

Of course, all of that secrecy had been before we’d come face to face.

“You don’t trust strangers,” Vila said again, “you don’t even trust friends.”

“True,” Kerr answered lightly. “Why don’t you pursue that thought to its logical conclusion, Vila?”

The man was a Delta. Surely Kerr wasn’t expecting him to work it out, just like that? But after a moment of confusion, Restal’s face became blankly thoughtful, his gaze just a bit too penetrating. Kerr was watching him again with that look I had noticed before. Fond, that was it.

“Not a stranger,” Restal said, and Kerr nodded almost imperceptibly. “And not a friend.” Abruptly, Restal whipped his head around to stare at Kerr, his breath whistling sharply through his teeth. “Hell! You said he was dead!”

“So I thought. Turns out, I wasn’t entirely wrong.”

“What is that supposed to mean?!”

“I’m standing with one foot in the grave, if you will,” I said. “There is no reason to make a fuss.”

“You’re dying? He’s dying? Avon…”

Kerr’s grip had tightened on his tools – he might have snapped a lower quality one in half. “It’s none of our business, Vila.”

“None of our business! How can it be none of our business, he’s –”

He really _had_ worked it out, then. I was impressed, but didn’t say so. Neither of them would have taken it as a compliment. “Kerr doesn’t approve of my habits. It’s an age old quarrel; there is no need to get involved.”

“Habits? What habits?”

“Evenfall,” Kerr spat, like a curse word. I suppose it was, to him.

“Evenfall?” Restal echoed. “But Evenfall has a chance of–”

“Reducing the natural lifespan by seventy-five percent from first use.” Kerr’s lips twisted bitterly. I’d never liked arguing with him about my using; the bitter resignation was new. I suppose he’d assumed that it was the drug that had killed me when I vanished. “I know that,” Kerr went on, “and he knows that. Don’t waste your breath, Vila.”

Restal stood there gaping, shifting instinctively closer to Kerr. Oh yes, he was different, all right. “But why?”

I shrugged. “I suppose you could say, ‘My mind rebels at stagnation’.”

Kerr’s hand slammed forcefully down on the console. “Don’t you dare quote preatomic literature! You never had an explanation of your own, did you, only borrowed words. You know it’s not the same – the only drug that compares is –”

“Shadow,” Restal whispered, and Kerr’s anger fled as abruptly as it had come.

He picked his tools back up and continued the work. “Yes. There won’t be a happy reunion, Vila, if you were hoping for one.”

Restal studied him for a long time, watching him work. I wondered suddenly whether that unassumingly penetrating gaze did not see more than I could, after so many years.

“No,” Restal said at last, “I don’t suppose it would be. Mind you, it could have been worse.”

Kerr looked up, catching Vila’s gaze and refusing to meet mine. “Yes,” he said simply and rocked back onto his heels. “I’m done here.”

I reached forward, activating the console. He was – the pesky fault indicator was off now, and all systems responded nominally. “So you are.”

Kerr bared his teeth in a sharp grin. “Did you doubt me?”

“Never, Kerr.”

He tore his gaze away and started packing up his tools. Restal leant on the console, glancing between us quizzically.

“You won’t stay for dinner,” I said, not needing to make it a question.

“No.”

“No?” Restal echoed. “Avon, are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” Kerr rose to his feet, his hand brushing briefly along Restal’s arm. “We should go. This already took longer than we expected.”

“They’d understand, Avon!”

Kerr’s face hardened, a muscle jumping in his jaw. “We’re not staying, Vila. Have you all your things?”

“Yeah,” the thief said, puzzled but acquiescent. A lesser man would have wilted under Kerr’s stare.

“At least take the coffee. I really do insist,” I said

Kerr picked it up off the floor with a sigh. “We won’t return the cup.”

“I have plenty more.”

Kerr nodded, passed the cup to Restal and stowed away his tools inside his jacket. “Let’s go, Vila.” And then, as if he had set out to surprise me just one more time, Kerr stepped over to where I was sitting even as Restal started heading towards the door. Kerr held out his hand. “I won’t say that it was good to see you.”

I took his hand, squeezing it as well as I could. “Be careful, Kerr. Company you keep, you might be dead before I am.”

He grinned again. “I don’t plan on it.” He let go of my hand, stepped back with a slight nod and turned to join Restal by the door.

“Oh, and Vila?” I called out even as Kerr was already through the door.

Restal turned back towards me warily. “Yes?”

“Watch him.”

“Watch him! If only he’d let me!”

I allowed myself a quick smile of my own. “Oh, I think you’ll find that he does.”

And with that, to a sharp call of “Vila!” from Kerr outside, they were both gone.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was first published as part of issue 2 of the all things B7 zine (completely free and digital) that I had the pleasure of editing for the second time now, [Rebels and Fools](https://rebelsandfools.tumblr.com/). You can find the details and the download link to the issue under [this link](https://rebelsandfools.tumblr.com/post/177590143533/rebels-and-fools-issue-2)!


End file.
